Brimstone and Treacle (1982)

A second filmed version of Dennis Potter’s controversial TV Play that was made six years after the Play for Today (1976) version but released before it.
Sting plays the stranger and provides much of the music. I’d not have thought his musical style well-suited to the story but it’s genuinely complementary at times. His methods for ingratiating himself to the father (again played by Denholm Elliott) aren't particularly believable, but it was important to show the transparent nature of the ruse and the casual way he went about it. He’s a little like Kubrick’s version of Alex DeLarge.
It might look like a kitchen sink drama on the surface, but the dark, sinister turns in the story are shown without reservation; it’s uncomfortable viewing.

3½ fainting feigns out of 5

Blade on the Feather (1980)

BotF contains within it complexities and themes that Potter returned to often, but which I can’t mention because their unearthing is a part of the journey.
Donald Pleasence plays a reclusive author who's having a hard time existing in the not-quite-perfect seclusion he’s created for himself, accentuated by the invasive camera angles and sharp editing of time. Tom Conti's character is an intellectual who’s writing a thesis on the author, meaning getting close to him is of paramount importance. But there are secrets on all sides.

4 playing fields out of 5

The Missionary (1982)

Michael Palin is the Reverend Fortescue, a simple, bashful dog collar chap who, when sent to bring ‘fallen ladies’ of the night back to God, gets into a game of licentious give and take for which he was ill-prepared.
Palin was also the writer, but it’s far removed from the kind of surrealism he’s known for with the Monty Python team. Its strength is in playing on the conventions of the traditional British period drama, but it succumbs to the same failings, too, and it never dares to go to the places it should’ve gone; it’s much too tame.

2 new positions out of 5